The next day I headed over to the same general area to see the Grand Palace Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha). According to Lonely Planet, it is Bangkok's biggest tourist attraction and a pilgrimage destination for devout Buddhists and nationalists.
A ticket to get in cost 350 Baht (about $10.00). It was packed with people from all over. I noticed a group of Aussie guys taking pictures of themselves. They were wearing what looked like clown pants. It is not allowed to wear shorts or tank tops, so if you are you can rent the proper clothes. These guys looked ridiculous, but they had a great sense of humor about it. I went up to them and said, "I just want to congratulate you on your recent graduation from clown school!" They laughed.
A few minutes later it started pouring rain. Everyone took refuge under the awnings of the temple or a small pavilion like I did. After 15 minutes of waiting, the rain showed no sign if letting up. What did I expect? It's monsoon season. So I finally I decided to have a walk around anyway.
I went inside the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. The Buddha is only about 26 inches tall and is actually carved from a single jade stone. (Emerald in Thai simply means dark green). No person is allowed to touch the statue, except for The King, when he changes the cloak around the statue three times a year for the summer, winter and rainy seasons. The Emerald Buddha is deeply venerated as the protector of the country.
I walked over to the Grand Palace and saw a huge flash of lightning followed by a loud clap of thunder that scared the crap out of most people because there backs were turned away from the flash. I had a plane to catch that night and didn't want to get struck by lightning, so I ended up cutting my tour short and headed back. I was heading to Chiang Mai that night and didn't want to miss my flight.
A ticket to get in cost 350 Baht (about $10.00). It was packed with people from all over. I noticed a group of Aussie guys taking pictures of themselves. They were wearing what looked like clown pants. It is not allowed to wear shorts or tank tops, so if you are you can rent the proper clothes. These guys looked ridiculous, but they had a great sense of humor about it. I went up to them and said, "I just want to congratulate you on your recent graduation from clown school!" They laughed.
A few minutes later it started pouring rain. Everyone took refuge under the awnings of the temple or a small pavilion like I did. After 15 minutes of waiting, the rain showed no sign if letting up. What did I expect? It's monsoon season. So I finally I decided to have a walk around anyway.
I went inside the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. The Buddha is only about 26 inches tall and is actually carved from a single jade stone. (Emerald in Thai simply means dark green). No person is allowed to touch the statue, except for The King, when he changes the cloak around the statue three times a year for the summer, winter and rainy seasons. The Emerald Buddha is deeply venerated as the protector of the country.
I walked over to the Grand Palace and saw a huge flash of lightning followed by a loud clap of thunder that scared the crap out of most people because there backs were turned away from the flash. I had a plane to catch that night and didn't want to get struck by lightning, so I ended up cutting my tour short and headed back. I was heading to Chiang Mai that night and didn't want to miss my flight.
No comments:
Post a Comment